A Different Kind of Cure for Wounded Mutants
by i wish for the goblin king
Summary: Rogue sets out to get the cure because she's tired of not being able to get close to Bobby, and it seems that Kitty is growing fonder of Bobby. Rogue never reaches the cure, but does meet a new mutant. Rogue&Iceman.
1. Making a Decision

**More about this story: **I'm just making up as I go along. I do have an idea of where I'm taking this story. I saw the movie and thought I would play around with the whole Rogue being a little jealous of Kitty. I love love triangles. But I also love the adventure/sci-fi stuff, so I'm adding a twist to the story. When Rogue sets out to find the cure, she bumps into a new mutant(need a name for him!) who teaches her a few tricks, and how to control her powers. He also reveals to her that she's no plain mutant, she's plays a more important role to the X-Men.

**A/N:** Hopefully someone out there is reading this, and if someone is reading this, please be kind and review! I would love to hear any compliments and complaints you have. I would also appreciate any advice that you have you have to offer. This is my first fan-fic, and I must admit that I'm a sad excuse of a writer, but this is just a new hobby I picked up. I also want to ask if anyone is willing to look over my chapters before I post them, I need an editor, spell check just doesn't cut it. If anyone is willing to help, contact me through this e-mail adress: (yeah, weird, I know.)

**Disclaimer: **It's obvious which characters are mine and which are Marvel's. And sadly, the best characters are definitely Marvel's. :(

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**Making a Decision**

Rogue stood there by her window watching the way Bobby and Kitty looked while holding each other's hand. The jealousy was unbearable. For each sound that the ice and skates orchestrated; a new pang of pain formed deep in her chest. 'I have to get out here' she thought to herself. Tearing her gaze away from the bubbly pair she made her way towards her bed. She sat down and looked over her options, which were:

A) Do nothing and continue being the gloved, breathtaking, in a very literal sense, angel that she was. Always unable to feel, touch, or kiss her boyfriend. Which would then lead to emptiness and assuming that he's like any other male, he'd catch the wandering eye and eventually leave her for another, more reachable mutant girl, and by the looks of it Kitty was choice number one so far.

B) She could pack up a few of her things and head out in search of that new found 'cure' that everyone was talking about.

Or.

C) She could suck the life out of Kitty by giving her an accidental hug.

Seeing as Rogue wasn't a very violent girl, she made up her mind about choice number three. Sadly enough, it was out of the question. And with a sigh she decided that she had to take a risk. She walked over to her closet and picked out whatever essentials she had to take and while packing she mulled over her decision. If she went through with it, it would mean that she's rejecting her gift, and it would surely be a loss. But.. What if that loss resulted in a greater gain? She would now be able to form deeper relationships with the people in her life.

It was all too exhausting. Just thinking about the different outcomes of her decision. She had to get out of there soon before she burst out in tears just out of pure frustration! She picked up her bag and made her way to the front door. All the while hoping that someone might stop her from the possibility of making the worst mistake of her life. And there he was, Logan, this could be a sign. A sign that left her as confused as ever. Since when had Logan not tried to stop her from running away? She watched him walk away and thought about his words... was she really going to do this over a boy? No. The reason was more than a boy. She had to do this for herself.

And with a new feeling of determination she set foot outside the door and would soon walk into a turn of events that she would have never expected.

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**A/N: **I know there isn't any dialogue but the next chapter will be filled with tons of it, since that's where some explainations will be made. Hmm.. any ideas for the story are welcome! Tell me if I should continue the story or just dump it.

**Love,**

**Maggie**


	2. Introductions and Explanations

**A/N: **OTHCharmedHPFreak, xox Phenix Godess Of Fire and Princess of Narnia xox, slave2theatre42890, emma134, lilJunebug, backoffchoharrysmine, attica, and juicyhautecouture, you were the first ones to review my story and I want to thank you so much! You gave me inspiration to continue writing this story!

**OTH** and **attica**, thanks for offering to be my beta! I just want to know what days are best for you, to send you my chapters. I do need some availability form you guys, and I don't want to bother you if you have busy schedules. : )

Oh, and the e-mail is: fearmytampon at hotmail dot com :D

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**Introductions and Explanations **

She was making her way down the cold, empty road, looking down at her feet. Rogue was thinking about everything and nothing at all, if that's even possible. As occupied as her mind was, she was alert enough to hear the footsteps behind her. 'Bobby,' she thought to herself. He probably went looking for her and Logan told him about her going out to find the cure. She was about to look up when everything all of the sudden went fussy and then it came, in just about a second, total darkness. She didn't get to hear the attacker's sincere apology, "Forgive me."

Rogue stirred a little inside some type of cocoon, a warm one. She was slowly coming to her senses when she felt the confinement. She panicked and screamed as she franticly tried to escape from whatever was keeping her from moving.

"Would you calm down, please," said a male voice as he kneeled down towards Rogue.

She turned to look at the owner of the voice. It was a man, probably in his mid forties. He had black hair with some visible white areas, a bushy beard, and soft blue eyes.

"Who are you? Where am I? And what do you want with me?" Asked Rogue aggressively, and she continued angrily, "What have you done to me? Set me free from this thing!"

"Would you let me answer a few of your questions before assaulting me with another set? That thing that you're so furiously trying to escape from is just a simple sleeping bag." That's when Rogue actually looked down at herself and saw that it was in fact just a sleeping bag. "Oh." That's all Rogue had to say about that. The man stretched out his hand and unzipped the side of the bag, letting Rogue free. She got up quickly, just to dizzy herself and was about to fall back down when two arms steadied her.

"Look; just sit down for a while. You've been unconscious for a few days and I need to explain a few things to you," he said as he set her down on the sleeping bag. Rogue was in no condition for running, so escaping was out of the question, for the moment anyways. So she sat and listened, even if she didn't really want to.

The man sat down in front of her and began, "Let's begin answering some of your questions. Where are you? Well, if you look around you'll see that we're inside the forest. We're not very far away from the institution, but far enough to keep them from finding us for a while." He then hesitated a little, but went on, " I think you should know about what's been going on while you were unconscious."

"How long was I out for?" Asked Rogue.

"Five days and you've missed a few events. I'm really sorry to have to be the bearer of bad news, but you have to find out one way or another. Xavier died."

"What?" Rogue could feel the tears coming up. Xavier meant so much to her, as he did to many other mutants. He gave her a safe haven, a place where she wouldn't feel like a freak. He was also the strongest mutant that she knew, how could he be dead? "How did he..?" She couldn't bring herself to say the last word.

"He was killed by The Phoenix, or Jean, as you know her by. The Phoenix was a second personality that Xavier had blocked for years, but was awakened with Jean's death. Jean had no control over The Phoenix, and when Xavier tried talking to her, she fought back. The Phoenix had extraordinary power; even Xavier was no match for her."

He took a breath and continued, "That's not all that happened. Magneto's war finally happened. Thankfully, the X-Men were there to protect humankind." He saw Rogue's look of concern. "Don't worry, none of them were harmed. Jean, however, died. Logan had to kill her. If he didn't, no one would be safe." Rogue took it all in and understood why Jean had to die again. She wondered how Logan was doing; she knew how much Jean meant to her. It must've been the hardest thing that Logan had to do in his entire life. She hoped that he was holding on to life still.

"So how are things now?" She asked him.

"Things are going smoothly right now. The human's hostility towards mutants has lessened considerably. Storm is now in charge of the institution. Many mutants decided to get the vaccine and I suppose they're happy. Speaking of which, you were on your way to a clinic, to get the cure also, right?"

Rogue looked at him, and then back down at the ground, "Yeah, I was."

"Why is that?" He asked with some curiosity.

Rogue gave him a hard look and answered, "I fail to see how that's any of your concern."

"You would be wrong to think that your life, and powers are not of any concern of mine," he paused and looked around, as if looking for any eavesdroppers. "I think it's time for some over due explanations."

"Let's start with some introductions. I know your name, Rogue, and I know who you are, but you don't know my name, and you don't exactly know who you are." Rogue looked puzzled by the last part. She was about to open her mouth but decided to let him go on. " My name is Hermis. I was sent out in search of you by two groups of mutants that have a special interest in you. They are the Olympians and the Primordials. You might recognize the names from Greek mythology. It might surprise you, but, those Greek Gods, they weren't myths at all. Of course, they weren't Gods either, just mutants. Mutants who grew old and eventually died, but they left children, some of them turned out to be mutants, and so the chain of mutants grew. If you study Greek mythology you can notice the similarities of their powers to that of some of the mutants you may know. And you, Rogue, you come from a line of Primordials."

Rogue didn't understand any of this, and she was having a hard time in believing it also. "I don't understand. Ho... What?" She shook her head in confusion.

Hermis sighed and went on, "I know it's hard to believe, but you need to listen to me and find some trust in me. If you look into Greek mythology you can find the name of Chaos, he was the 'God' of nothingness. What he really was, was a mutant that could make others faint by just touching them. He then fathered a child, a girl named Nyx, 'God' of sleep. She could make people slowly fall into sleep my going into their minds. She eventually gave birth to children of her own. One of them is Thanatos, 'God' of death. He could make people die by touching them; his touch would suck out all their energy if he held on long enough. Sound familiar?"

Rogue was stunned. It all made some sense, everything he was saying could be possible.

"How come I didn't know about this before?" She asked.

"Well, we're more powerful than the average mutant, but we aren't all knowing, it always takes us some time to find mutants who belong in the Olympian and Primordial group. As soon as we had a clue of where you were, I was sent out to find you. Hermis was taken from the name Hermes, 'God' of travel. He was also a messenger to the 'Gods.' My abilities are somewhat like that. I can travel at great speed and I am a sort of messenger for the Olympians and Primordials. Not only was I sent here to find you, and to deliver the message, but I was also sent to train you. You have to learn to develop your abilities, notice how I said abilities? That's because you have more than one, you're just not conscious of it."

"Develop my abilities? How so?" Rogue was evidently becoming more interested.

"You can learn how to control your powers. You don't have to hurt people just by touching them; you can control when to let your powers out. I can teach you, you just have to let me teach you." He then looked at her apprehensively, "Look; I can't keep you here by force. You're free to do what you please. But you must know that there are other mutants out looking for you. These aren't nice mutants; these are the true bad guys. Some of them are part of the Olympian and Primordial group, but they decided to use their abilities for their own personal purposes. The rest of the Olympians and Primordials want to stop them, and you're the one who can help us when they decide to attack. They want to find you too, to kill you. They know that you're the one who can kill them without even breaking a sweat. You threaten their lives, and they want to get to you while you're weak. It won't be much longer before they find you, so you need to make a decision, now."

All her senses were back now. She was aware of everything around her. The smell of trees and humid soil were somewhat relaxing. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. She could take Hermis for crazy; she didn't know anything about this guy. Hell, for all she knew, he could be some nut who escaped from the loony bin. But somehow, looking at his poised behavior, and by the way he explained everything, she doubted that he was an escapee from a mental institution. Besides, how would he know her name? Then again, he could be one of the bad guys himself. That didn't make sense either, thought, he would've killed her already. All she could do was go with her gut instinct. And she decided that she would rather play it safe. If those bad guys Hermis warned her about did exist, she wasn't about to take a chance and let them find her with her being so weak.

She finally opened her eyes and looked at Hermis who was patiently waiting for an answer. "I want to learn what you offer to teach me."

At this, Hermis looked at her softly and smiled. "Thank you." He was thanking her for trusting

him.

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**A/N:** I made this chapter a little longer! Hope you guys like it! And I hope that it isn't a big dissapointment for the people who have me in alert.

Now, I know that there might be some people who are great fans of Greek Mythology, I hope I don't anger such fans by using the Greek Gods as part of my story. I tried to stay accurate as to names and such.

My sources were: google. and wikipedia.

I'd also like to thank my boyfriend, Danny, he gave me some ideas, I appreciate it so much!

**Love, **

**Maggie!**


	3. 3 Months pass in a Flurry

**A/N:** It took me more time than expected to post this chapter up because I sent my chapter to my betas but one of them was having trouble opening the file, I think this is my computers fault, it's so old. :(

I haven't heard from my other beta, and I'm dying to post the chapter so I'm going to go ahead and do it, and hopefully by the next chapter they'll be able to get the file properly and revise it for me. : )

Thank you for all the reviews! Some people are a little confused by what's going on, just trust me on this one, the story has a place to go, and I'm not making myself confused, I know exactly where the story is going. yes, I know that in the movie Rogue got the vaccine, but this story isn't exactly following the movie.

Again, I'm new at this, so bear with me. Hopefully my story will get better with each chapter.

**kytzya-** I know you're my friend and everything, but I think you over did it a little with your enthusiasm in the review. p Muchos thanks!

**Danny-** Your pen name is really, REALLY long. / and I did use your ideas!

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**3 Months pass in a Flurry**

Somewhere in the forest...

Rogue stared, clueless, at the two large rocks that were placed on top of a barbecue grill, the fire softly crackling underneath. "What's this?"

"It's your first step for training." Replied Hermis.

"Hmm.. Caveman gourmet? How is that going to help me?" Asked Rogue with slight raise of the eyebrow.

Hermis just gave her a side look. "You are going to practice how to dull your sense of touch. If you dull your sense of touch you can touch people without hurting them."

"That's nice and everything but what role do the rocks and grill play in all this?" Rogue asked, still not getting the significance of the rocks and grill.

"Well, that's quite simple. You are going to touch each rock with each of your hands while concentrating on dulling your senses. You're going to try it until you don't feel the burning sensation."

Rogue just shot him an incredulous look, not sure if he was serious or not. "You're kidding, right?"

"No. This is a very effective method of training. Just touch the rocks and pretend that they're cool, force yourself to not feel the fire."

Rogue wondered just how stupid Hermis thought she was, actually, she wondered just how stupid Hermis was. "Yeah, I'm sure it's quite an effective method, but I think I want an example. I propose this, and excuse my vulgarity, why don't you cut off a nut and pretend it's still there. You tell me how that goes and then I'll decide if this method is the right one for me." Her comment loaded with evident sarcasm, and her face displayed a mock smile.

"Rogue." Hermis said her name in the way that adults say a kid's name who just said a no-no word. " Vulgar language is quite unbecoming for a young lady like you."

Rogue couldn't help but chuckle. "I'm sorry, but you are extremely insane if you think you can convince me to touch those rocks. They're placed over fire! When I was in pre-school they taught me never to play with fire, and I'm pretty obedient."

"If you're such the obedient pupil as you say then prove it and listen to your teacher now." Hermis turned his body to face her now. "This isn't going to work unless you show some cooperation. I need you to fully trust me. I wouldn't tell you to do this if it were to seriously harm you. I'll be honest, it is going to hurt at first, but it's nothing that will kill you. Whatever wounds you have, I can cure. I brought all the herbs and potions needed for your training."

"I'm guessing your people don't believe in pharmacies and band-aids."

"Oh, believe me, these little herbs I'm talking about go beyond your average painkiller."

Rogue sighed and stepped closer towards the grill. " Time to develop some masochist tendencies, I suppose."

Hermis smiled and stepped forward. "Just think about the coldest object and try to dull your senses. Unlike other mutants, you have the power to dull your senses due to your abilities. It's just that no one tried to show you before. You can do this." He said with a confident nod towards the heated rocks."

Rogue shook her head in disbelief, disbelief in herself. 'I can't believe I'm about to touch two burning rocks.' She stretched her arms above the grill and slowly lowered her hands to the rocks. She could already feel the sting of the burning fire. She squinted her eyes, and clenched her teeth, expecting some pain to come. 'Here we go.' And with that thought she fully placed her hands over the two heated rocks.

And there it was, the unbearable pain that came with first-degree burns. "Motherfucker!"

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In the School for Gifted Youngsters...

Inside the main office, the new Principle, Storm, Logan, and Bobby were discussing the disappearance of Rogue.

Bobby Drake was quite upset with the situation. "It's been three weeks already and we still can't find her!"

"We know that Bobby, but there's not much we can except to keep looking for her." Logan answered, shaking his head in frustration.

"Logan is right, for the moment there's nothing else we can do, except to keep on searching for her." Storm said apologetically. "I know you're very worried Bobby, we all are, but if something really bad had happened to her, I'm sure we would have heard something in the news about an accident, or anything of the sorts. Let's just keep a positive attitude, I'm sure we're going to find her soon." Storm was trying to give Bobby some comfort, as well as Logan.

Logan moved towards Bobby and guided him towards the door while saying, "It's already late, you have classes tomorrow and you need some rest. We'll continue looking for her after you're done with your classes."

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow then." He said with some resignation.

Bobby walked down one of the school halls until he reached one of the bedroom doors. He gave a low knock, making sure not to wake up any of the students in the other rooms. A few seconds later the door opened.

Kitty opened the door, she was in her pajamas, clearly she was ready to go to bed.

"Hey, Kitty, I'm sorry, I know it's late. I just really needed someone to talk to. But if you're too tired we could always talk tomorrow. I don't want to bother you."

Kitty gave him a sweet smile and let him in. "No, it's ok. I was just listening to some music."

She led him towards her bed and sat down, petting the space next to her; she motioned for him to sit next to her. Bobby accepted the offer and sat next to her.

"So what's on your mind?" Kitty asked. Then she shook her head slightly and said, "What a silly question, of course I know what's on your mind. Everyone in this school knows what's on your mind these days. You're thinking about Rogue, right?" She asked him, not really needing an answer.

"It's driving me crazy; not knowing where she is. Why would she go out for the vaccine? I never asked that of her. I love her just the way she is. I never pressured her to do anything!"

"I'm sure you didn't. I'm sure she had to do this for herself. I mean, if I were her, I would want to get the vaccine too. I'm guessing that it's hard not to be able to touch anyone. Specially a boyfriend." She said this with a lower voice and looked at Bobby with a meaningful look.

She had never thought about Bobby as anything but a big brother figure until the night when he took her out in the middle of the night to the fountain outside the school. Him turning the fountain water into ice for ice skating to remind her of her home was the sweetest thing that anyone had ever done for her. And as they skated, he took her hand in his and skated alongside of her. When he took her hand, she felt warmth that she hadn't felt for any guy before. Then, when he suddenly stopped, causing her to twirl a little towards him. They were so close, and she had the strongest urge to kiss him.

She had the same urge at this very moment. The only thing that stopped her from doing it was the fact that Bobby was crazy over Rogue. Kitty didn't give up hope, though. It had been three weeks already since Rogue left the school and hadn't come back. Kitty had no idea, just like that others, why Rogue didn't come back, but she hoped that she wouldn't come back again, or at least, not in a long time. She wanted Bobby to get over Rogue so she could attempt forming a relationship with him.

"I just miss her so much, you know." Bobby said in the saddest of voices. He was about to break down.

"I know, Bobby. But I'm here for you, you can talk as much as you need, I will listen." Kitty took his hand in hers and gave it a soft squeeze.

Bobby looked her in the eyes, smiled in gratitude and softly squeezed back.

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Somewhere in the forest...

After a month of burning her hands, large amounts of herbs and potions, and countless bandages later, Rogue was going nowhere with her training.

"And so we meet again, stupid burning rocks." Rogue said to herself as she prepared herself to touch them once more. 'I can do this, I can do this.' She thought. "Just think about something cool, the coldest thing out there." She smiled as she thought about it. 'Iceman.' She hadn't given herself any time to think about him, it wouldn't only hurt to think about him away from her. She wanted so bad to go home, but she couldn't. What if the bad guys Hermis warned her about found her? She would have no way of defending herself. Sure, the X-Men would fight for her, but what if these bad guys proved to be stronger than the X-Men are. She had to learn how to defend herself. She was determined to finish her training before going back to the school.

"Ok, Rogue, stop fooling around and get serious about this. Those rocks are pathetic; they can't hurt you unless you let them. Now, dull your senses pretend that you can't feel the pain and it'll become reality."

Rogue had never concentrated so much in doing something as she was right now. She thought about her fingertips and made herself believe that she could prick them and she would not feel the pain. As soon as she stopped visualizing that, she went on to visualizing the rest of her hands. Her hands were slowly lowering themselves onto the heated rocks. She could feel slight warmth but it didn't hurt. She could feel the smoothness of the rocks, but nothing hurt. Suddenly, she realized that she wasn't visualizing anything, she actually was doing it!

"Oh, my God! I did it! I did -- ow!" All of the sudden she felt the burns on her hands.

Hermis heard her screaming and ran out the camping tent he'd set out for himself.

"You did it?" He asked her with a big smile.

"Yeah, but I touched the rocks and it didn't hurt! For a moment, that is. As soon I took my hand away it started hurting, and my hands did burn."

Hermis led to the outside of his tent. She left her waiting outside for a few seconds while he disappeared into the tent and came back out with some herbs and bandages.

They both sat down on the grass and Hermis began applying the herbs and wrapping her hands with bandages.

"You really are making progress. I'm sure that in a few more days you're going to be able to touch me without hurting me." He said enthusiastically.

Rogue smiled at him. "A few days ago I wouldn't have believed you. But now, now it's different." She looked up at the sky, contemplating on her small victory. "Wow, imagine, soon I'll be able to touch people without hurting them."

Hermis nodded. "Not only that, but you'll also be able to use another ability. Remember that you can also 'borrow' other's abilities. Depending on how long you touch them, you could even get to keep them."

"Ugh, that only means more training once I gain other's abilities." Complained Rogue.

Hermis just laughed.

"I think you should take some rest. You've already made enough progress for today."

"Ok." Rogue didn't mind taking a rest at all.

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In the School for Gifted Youngsters...

It had been already 2 months and a half and there was no sign of Rogue. Nothing appeared in the news about a young girl being in an accident, rape, murder, and the X-Men took that as good news, as the saying goes, no news is good news. After searching for so long they decided to give up. Maybe Rogue had moved on with her life and decided that the school wasn't her place any longer because she no longer was a mutant, they assumed she wasn't a mutant any longer, anyways.

Bobby was shattered. He loved Rogue so much, and it hurt to think that she had left him. Maybe their bond wasn't as strong as he thought it was. As hard as it was on him, he decided that the best thing to do was to try and move on. If Rogue could go on living without him, he could do the same thing. His pride is what caused him to pursue a new relationship.

Bobby was outside in the gardens, taking a walk, when he heard a girl's soft voice, and he turned around.

"Hey, baby. Guess what day it is today?" Beamed Kitty as she approached him.

"I'm not sure, it's not your birthday, right? If it is, I'm really sorry!" Bobby clasped his hands together, begging apology.

"No, you're safe on that one. There's still a few months left until my birthday." Kitty smiled and took both his hands with hers.

"Then, I give up, what's today?"

"It's our 2 day and 3 hours anniversary!" Kitty said with the biggest grin on her face.

Bobby laughed and hugged her tightly. "Ahh. This is why I like you so much; you're so goofy and sweet. It's hard not to like you."

Kitty giggled and looked into his face, taking it all in. She thought herself lucky to have such an attractive boyfriend. She had been overwhelmed with excitement when Bobby asked her to be his girlfriend. She knew Bobby would come around to his senses eventually, and he would move on and forget about Rogue. She was happy with Bobby, and she didn't want that to change.

Bobby hugged her again and looked at the rose bushes next to them. He was happy. Kitty had a way of making things a little more fun. Maybe it was because she was a little younger than him and tended to not make a big deal out of things. She had a more innocent way of looking at things. So yes, she made his days more cheerful. But Rogue, Rogue was always on his mind. He didn't love Kitty, but he thought that maybe in time he would. She wasn't hard to like, maybe it would be easy to fall in love with her.

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Somewhere in the forest...

Rogue woke up very early in the morning. She got ready and gathered her things and set them inside her bag. As soon as she was done, she stepped outside her tent and took a last look around the forest. She had a big smile pasted on her face. Today, she was returning to school. She was going back to what she'd come to know as home. Most importantly, she was going back to her Bobby.

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**A/N:** I think this chapter was a little better than the next. I hope you guys think the same also. : )

Now, go review! Please:D

P.S - I have finals in 4 hours! Eep! Wish me luck!


	4. Welcomed with a Slap in the Face

**A/N:** Ah! I'm out of school, finally! But I'm going to take some summer classes because I want to graduate by next summer, plus, I have to take the transfer courses too, just in case I want to go to a UC. I made some research and here are my options:

**Otis**- If I decide to keep on going with my art major.

**Lu Ross**- If I decide to go into make-up artistry.

**Chico Sate**- If I decide to go with my other major, journalism.

Now, that's what I want, getting in is a whole other story. Obviously, the easiest one to get into is Lu Ross. I'll be happy attending either one, so I'm really confused right now! Well, I have a year to think about it, so that's good.

Haha, sorry for my rambling, I'm just so excited!

Now, for the story related stuff.

**Thanks to my betas. **

**OTH** - Thanks for reading my chapter over and approving it.

**attica**- I have no idea what I would do without you! You really do point out every mistake, and I love it! This way I know exactly what to work on. Sorry that you keep on having to remind me about the commas when using dialogue! I keep forgetting. I'll try harder for next chapter! I really did take your advice about the end of the chapter, thanks for the input!

**xox Phenix Godess Of Fire and Princess of Narnia xox-** I took one of your names! Gregori. : ) Thanks for posting that list, it really helped me out.

**wolfliebe-** I'll definitely try to give Peter his part in the story!

Again, thanks to everyone for the reviews and input! Also, thanks for putting up with my mediocre writing. Your support and reviews really make my day: )

**Danny & kytzya-** Thanks for putting up with me when I keep obssessing over my story, and how I keep checking my stats! Haha, hope I don't drive you crazy!

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**Welcomed with a Slap in the Face**

Rogue was slowly making her way to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters with Hermis by her side. Hermis was going on with some instructions, little reminders on how to concentrate and how to gain the abilities of other mutants, as if she could forget. She was half listening and half daydreaming. She wanted to get to the school already and see Bobby.

'I've missed that boy so much! I think I could hug him to death!' she thought to herself. Then she realized that that wasn't true at all anymore, and she smiled with even more excitement. For the first time she would get to embrace Bobby, and kiss him passionately without having to worry about him getting hurt.

Hermis noticed Rogue's distant look and interrupted her thoughts. "Rogue, are you paying attention?"

At the sound of her name, Rogue snapped back to attention and turned to look at Hermis with some confusion, but recovered quickly and just smiled. "Of course I am. You know, you should give me more credit. I'm not as dumb as you make me feel. You've repeated the same speech for the past three months; it's forever engraved in my mind!"

"Good. That's the point. You should never forget what I taught you. We don't want any mistakes happening if you're ever attacked. And I'm not going to be around, so you're going to have to take care of yourself." Hermis was evidently worried for Rogue.

Rogue noticed and reassured him, " Hey, remember that there's a group of X-Men in school who would take care of me if anything happens. Relax, I'll be just fine. By the way, where exactly are you going? Am I going to see you again?" asked Rogue with some concern, she'd actually grown attached to Hermis and the thought of never seeing him again did sadden her.

"I have to go back to Europe; I need to report back to the Olympians and Premordials. I haven't had any contact with them in the past few months."

"If you had a cell phone, that wouldn't be a problem."

"I know, but we're a bit more... traditional, I suppose that's the right word. It's such a mess to be involved with all this new technology." He shook his head in disapprovingly, as if technology was a thing of the devil.

Rogue just shrugged and asked, "Hermis, how am I supposed to contact you if I need you? Don't I get at least an address or something?"

Hermis shook his head. "I'm sorry Rogue, it's too dangerous. You certainly can't have our location written down, someone could easily find it. You could memorize it, but then we'd have to worry about those mutants with psychic abilities," he explained.

They were already at the corner of the school, and they came to a stop there. Hermis was thinking about the last thing he said about mutants with psychic abilities, and he took something out of his pocket. He held a small chip in between his thumb and index finger, and he stretched out his arm to allow Rogue a closer look.

"What's that?" Rogue stared at the small chip, and then looked back at Hermis.

"It protects your mind from being read by those mutants with psychic abilities. This is mine, but I think you need it more right now. Turn around, it needs to be placed where no one can notice it." He motioned with his index finger for her to turn around. Rogue did as instructed and turned around, giving her back to him. She felt Hermis lifting her hair and felt the cool piece of metal touch the skin on her neck.

"There, all done," said Hermis.

Rogue turned to face him again. She lifted her hand to touch the little chip that was now stuck on her skin.

"It won't come off unless you want it to," he explained.

"Umm, ok. So now no one can read my mind?"

"No one, except those mutants whose abilities are extremely well developed. Hopefully you won't run into any of those. But I figured that since you're mostly surrounded by students, you'll be ok."

"Thanks." She was so grateful to him, he really did want to keep her as safe as possible.

"You're welcome. Now we really must part. I have to start making my way back to Europe. Tell me, have you thought about what you're going to tell your fellow X-Men?"

"The truth, I guess." Rogue hadn't thought about all the explanations that she would have to give. It was certainly going to be a long talk.

Hermis gave a nod; he had no problem with the X-Men knowing the truth. From what he had observed, they were good mutants. Maybe, if the head Olympian approved, they could ask the X-Men for their help.

They walked towards the gate and paused at the entrance.

Rogue leaned in, and gave Hermis a hug. Hermis retuned the hug and patted her softly with both hands. He thought about how much Rogue had changed since the day they had met. She seemed bitter and lonely back then. Now, she smiled a lot more, and made jokes, she seemed much more cheerful. He knew it had something to do with her being able to touch people now, and that boy he had seen her with before, when he was watching over her. He was glad to leave her in a better state.

"Take care, Rogue. I'll be back as soon as possible."

"You too, take care."

They parted and Hermis walked away along the road, and in the blink of an eye, he was gone.

Rogue gave a sigh and turned towards the school. And as she walked past the gate entrance she thought to herself, 'I have to find Bobby first.'

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Rogue was making her way through one of the main hallways. There were no kids around, which meant that they were either in class or in the cafeteria. 'What time is it?' If she knew what time it was, it would be much easier to find Bobby.

Rogue was contemplating on where to look for Bobby first when she heard her name. She turned around to see a younger kid that she had seen around school before, but couldn't remember his name.

The boy approached with surprise in his eyes. "Rogue! You're back! Where were you? What happened? Why did it take you so long to come back?"

"I'll explain later. Have you seen Bobby?" She wanted to see Bobby already.

The boy's expression changed, but Rogue didn't know why, and didn't really care at the moment. He took some time to answer, and when he did, he seemed a bit hesitant. "Oh...Bobby... He's, umm... Well, it's lunchtime, and everyone is in the cafeteria."

Rogue didn't seem to notice the boy's weird behavior; she just wanted to get to Bobby soon. "Thanks," she said, and turned around and ran towards the cafeteria.

The boy watched her run away and then he started running too, but to the opposite direction, towards the principal's office.

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The cafeteria was bustling with kids all around. Some were chatting while waiting in the lunch line. Others were sliding their trays, picking out what they preferred to eat. The rest were spread all throughout the room, sitting in groups on the cafeteria tables. Straight across the room, there were two teenagers sitting together with a group of friends joking around and laughing.

Bobby was sitting close to Kitty, a little closer than the rest of the group was to each other. The whole table was talking about their P.E. class.

"I can't believe Lauren missed that pass!" exclaimed Gregori in disbelief.

"Well, excuse me! Not all of us were born gifted in the athletic department," she spat back.

"Yeah, I know, you prove that point. But come on! The ball was going one direction and you jumped to the other!"

"Ugh, leave me alone already! No one told you to pick me for your team!"

The group laughed at the two friends who were fighting over the game of basketball they had just played in the previous class, right before lunch.

"Get over it, Greg, we won anyways," said Bobby, trying to change the subject to prevent Lauren from slapping Gregori.

"You're right, we did win, but I'm sure we would've lost if you hadn't been on our team, Bobby," Kitty said to Bobby with a flirty tone, and too much sweetness.

Bobby gave a little laugh. "I'm pretty sure you guys would've done just fine without me, but thanks for the compliment." He leaned in to give her a peck on the lips.

The group hadn't noticed that the rest of the room had grown quiet and still. All the noise they could hear was their own and the barely audible whispers passing around the room.

"Augh, Bobby, Kitty, stop that! You're going to make me si---" Lauren's jaw dropped when she noticed the girl standing behind their table, a few steps away. "Rogue!"

Bobby's head shot up and he looked at Lauren, who was staring straight ahead, past his shoulder. "What?"

Kitty had already turned to look at what the whole room was staring at.

It only took Bobby a second to see that everyone was staring at something behind him. He quickly turned around and the Earth stood still, or at least it seemed to for Bobby.

"Rogue..."

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Rogue entered the cafeteria in a hurry. She stopped briefly to look around and spotted Bobby with a group of friends. She smiled and made her way towards the table, ignoring the stares and whispers that had started to form around the room. As she got closer to where Bobby was, she noticed that he was sitting real close to Kitty. Jealousy and annoyance began to form inside her. Apparently her absence had helped Kitty turn into a pesky little fly. Rogue's excitement was lessened, but she still walked on eagerly towards Bobby.

Then, she stopped dead in her tracks. She stared at the image right in front of her. That little action happened so slowly in Rogue's eyes, and she couldn't believe what she had seen. She watched as Bobby leaned in and kissed Kitty. She opened her mouth slightly in pure disbelief. And all of the excitement and happiness she had felt earlier was dead. Her heart clenched inside her chest, her throat closed up, and tears threaten to come out.

In just the time that it took Bobby to breathe her name, he jumped out of his chair and ran those few steps that separated him from Rogue. As soon as he reached her, he grabbed onto her with one hand on each of her arms. He noticed that nothing happened to him when he touched her skin.

"Rogue! Where were you?"

Both his touch and his voice pulled her out of her trance. She just stared at him blankly, not knowing how to respond, and she lowered her head and stared at the ground. She then pulled free from his grasp. His touch, which was supposed to give her the greatest of happiness, now, only caused her profound pain. She started taking a few steps backward, away from him, still looking at the ground. She didn't want to look at his face at all, for she was afraid that if she did that, she wouldn't be able to hold back her tears any longer. She wanted to run away, run as fast as she could, but her feet were unwilling to listen to her plead. She thought she was going to die of humiliation in that room if she stayed any longer. But a new set of people saved her from that.

"Rogue!"

Rogue turned around to look at the person who had called out her name. It was Logan walking rapidly towards her, Storm following close behind.

They reached her and began questioning her, just as she had figured they would.

"What happened? Where were you? Are you all right?" Logan asked her with concern in his eyes.

Rogue looked at Logan and then at Strom, who were looking at her expectantly for an answer. She was about to open her mouth, but closed it again. She gave a quick look towards Bobby, who looked hurt, but was staring right into her eyes. She looked back at Logan and Storm, "Could we go to your office, Storm? I want to speak with you and Logan alone." She said this as she shot a glance around the room.

Storm nodded her head, "Sure, let's go."

The three of them walked out of the cafeteria, leaving a room full of whispering teenagers and one very hurt Bobby. He just stood there, watching Rogue walk out of the room.

Kitty stood next to him and took his hand, causing Bobby to look down at her face. She looked back at him with questioning eyes. Bobby didn't want to hurt her feelings, but he couldn't talk right now, he needed some time alone. So all he did was give her hand a gentle squeeze, and with that he let go of her hand and walked out of the cafeteria.

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Rogue was sitting quietly in one of the couches of the office. She looked up and both Logan and Storm were looking at her, expecting some answers and explanations.

"Are you ready to tell us what happened, Rogue? You were gone for three months. Where were you?" Storm asked calmly.

"I... I went to the city, to one of the clinics." And there it was, a lie she hadn't expected to tell.

"Did you get the vaccine?" asked Logan.

"Yeah."

Logan and Storm looked at each other, and then back at Rogue.

"Why didn't you come back?" asked Storm.

"I wasn't sure if I would be welcomed back. I mean, this is a school for gifted youngsters, and I'm no longer gifted."

"That's nonsense. You will always be welcomed here, gifted or not," said Storm warmly, and she sat down next to Rogue.

"Where were you for the past three months?" Logan asked, still needing more answers.

Rogue took a few seconds to think about this question. "Well, different places. I went from shelter to shelter. I had nowhere else to go." The lies kept spilling out of her mouth so easily.

Rogue was tired and she wasn't up for more questioning. She got up from the couch. "Is it ok if I go lie down?" Then it occurred to her that she might not have a room anymore, so she asked, "Is my room... still mine?"

She looked hopefully at Storm, and Storm smiled. "Yes, your room is just as you left it. Go ahead, I'm sure you're tired, and you've missed plenty of school days. You better rest up and we'll see each other tomorrow in class."

Rogue nodded and gave her a hug, then turned to Logan and gave him a hug too. "I really did miss you," she said to them, and turned to leave.

Once Rogue was out the door, Storm and Logan were left alone to discuss Rogue's disappearance and re-appearance. They both felt like Rogue had left something out, but only time would tell if it was only their imagination.

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Rogue reached her bedroom door and was about to reach for the doorknob when she saw Kitty approaching form the corner of her eye. She turned to her right and watched Kitty as she approached her.

"I just wanted to say how sorry I am, I know we were friends, and it wasn't my intention to hurt you. You were gone for so long and no one was sure if you were even going to come back. Bobby needed---"

Rogue, who was clearly not in the mood for Kitty's apology, cut her off. The harm had been done, and the pain was just too much, no matter how many heartfelt apologies were offered to her. She was not about to forgive either of them so easily.

"We weren't friends," Rogue said simply, and she reached for the doorknob and walked in, slamming the door, leaving Kitty alone with her unfinished apology.

Rogue was leaning on the door with her forehead pressed against the wood. She gave a sigh as she dropped her bag on the floor.

"Rogue."

She heard Bobby's voice behind her.

She spun around, a little startled, "Get out," she said automatically.

Bobby was sitting on the edge of her bed, but quickly got up to get near her. He had to touch her; he needed to touch her. He stood in front of her and touched her cheek with his hand. Rogue closed her eyes and she couldn't hold it any longer, she let her tears flow freely now, silently. It broke Bobby's heart to see her this way, to see her crying, and what was worse was that he was the one causing her all this pain. He caressed her now wet cheek with his thumb, only to have Rogue slap it away with her own hand. Bobby just stared at her with hurt in his eyes.

"Get out," Rogue said, anger filling her voice. What right did he have to be coming into her room and trying to console her after he hurt her so much? Seeing him with Kitty was like a slap in the face, knowing that it only took him three months, or even less time, to get over her.

"Get out," she repeated, and opened the door for him to get out.

"We need to talk," Bobby said, not moving.

"Get out!" she yelled out this time and grabbed Bobby's arm and pulled him towards the door.

"Rogue..." Bobby didn't want to leave but he wasn't fighting Rogue. He figured maybe she needed to calm down before he tried speaking to her again. So he let Rogue push him out the door and into the hallway.

Rogue slammed the door, locked it, and walked towards her bed. She had only been back for a couple of hours and already she felt exhausted. She threw herself onto the bed and smothered her face into the pillow, letting it receive her loud sobs.

She didn't come out of her room for the rest of the day. She just lay in her bed, crying her heart out onto the pillow, soaking it with tears, until there were no more tears, just dry sobs, and a sore throat. Eventually she dosed off to heavy sleep due to exhaustion and just not being able to keep her swollen eyes open.

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**A/N:** There it is, my fourth chapter. I keep trying to pace myself and I think that I get better with each chapter. I can't wait to be in the point where I can write the whole chapter smoothly, with no rushed events and things like that. I definitely will work harder to write better dialogue. And for those poor souls who read through the whole chapter, bless your heart!

Want to make me smile? Go review! Pretty please: )


	5. Old Enemy, New Friend

**A/N: **Finally! I got some time to write. Here's why it took me a month to write this chapter:

First, I got out of school, so I decided to relax for my one and only week of vacation.

Second, I had to go back to school because I decided on taking summer classes, so the first week was hectic.

Third, friends began arriving from college! I just had to save my free time to spend it with them. I missed them terribly!

And lastly, I had surgery! Nothing major, I had to have my galbladder removed. I had to stay in the hospital for two days and once I came back home I needed plenty of rest, so it was the bed for me for a couple of days. I even had to drop my classes because I missed too many days.

But now that I have some free time, I'm back at work. Ok, some other things:

**For my betas: **

I'm sorry, but for the time being I won't be sending you my chapters. Here's what's going on, my hotmail account doesn't allow me to send any e-mails, that's why I always use aol to send out my chapters, but now aol is being weird so I can't use it in my computer. I need to use a different computer if I want to send out any files. And for right now, I can't go out that much, but once I get a hodl of another computer I'll be sending you my chapters again. So for right now it's unedited chapters!

Well, hope you guys enjoy my new chapter! And thank you so much for all the reviews! I usually reply to every one of the reviewers but since I wasn't home that often, and when I was, I had to be in bed, I didn't ge to reply this last time. So I wanted to let you know that I do appreaciate all the wonderful reviews! 24! That's the most reviews I've had for any chapter! Yay!

**kytzya-** No, just because you're friends with the author does not mean that you get special attention! You don't get the inside scoop, sorry! So you can try as much as you like, beg, torture me, doesn't matter, my lips are sealed! Besides, _I _don't even know what's going to happen next!

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**Old Enemy, New Friend**

Rogue opened her eyes slowly, the events of the day before were slowly coming back to her and suddenly she was hit with a major headache. She grunted a little as she stirred in her bed. She really wasn't up for getting up, much less having to deal with all the questions and staring eyes of her schoolmates. How she wished that mutant teens were different from the other kids. Unfortunately for her, the nosy gene was well embedded in mutants too.

Finally, with a last grunt she got herself out off bed and walked towards her dresser. She leaned in to give herself a good look of her face.

"Ugh," she gave a loud grunt when she saw that her eyes were a little red and swollen, "Now I really don't want to show up for any of my classes," she said to her reflection. Missing class was really out of the question because she knew better. If she missed class that would only make Logan and Storm wonder about her and one of them was bound to come up for a talk. She wasn't up for another conversation with one of them, especially since she lied to them.

She hadn't had time to ask herself a very important question. 'Why did I lie to them?' She tried to come up with an answer that didn't sound immature even to her, but the truth was that she just wanted to shut herself up. She felt lied to, so she was going to do the same to everyone else. She felt like a small kid when she thought about it but that was her only way to cope.

"I need a shower," and with that last comment she went to her closet to look through some of the clothes she had left behind.

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Everyone hates being gossiped about, and at the moment there was no one in the world that hated it more than Rogue. She couldn't hear anyone whispering to each other, but she did feel their eyes burning at the back of her head as she passed them in the hallways. She hid the redness around her eyes as well as she could with make up and some eye shadow, but she could only do so much without ending up looking like a corner slut.

So far she hadn't bumped into Bobby or Kitty, which was best because she didn't know what her reaction would be. She certainly didn't want anyone to see her crying and she also didn't want to give anyone the satisfaction of seeing her angry, she just wanted everyone to think that she didn't care at all. 'Ugh, speaking of the devil...' Rogue came to a halt at the sight of Bobby. He was leaning on a wall with Kitty next to him and surrounded by some of their friends. 'Whose friends are those now?' That thought made her feel even lonelier. Now she wondered if the people who she thought were her friends would be taking sides. She had to push that thought aside because now she only had time to think about how she was going to get past them.

Bobby, who had been silently staring at the floor, seemed to notice her presence and looked up to her. Following his gaze, everyone else's eyes were on her now, and the room seemed to freeze. 'Oh, no.' She couldn't get herself to move, and everyone's attention was on her now, and she really needed to be saved, and quickly too. And as if in cue someone's chest blocked her view of the other's eyes. She took a step back and realized who it was.

"Johnny?" She was a little confused, she never thought that she'd see him again, especially not in school.

"The one and only," he said with a grin, then grabbed her arm and started walking in the direction where Rogue had been dreading to pass just a few seconds ago, "here, I'll walk you to class."

Rogue was becoming more and more confused. "That's not necessary, I can walk myself, thank you."

"Really? 'cause it looks like you could use a barrier," he said as he gave a look towards Bobby and his group.

Rogue gave a quick glance in Bobby's direction as they passed him and his friends by. She saw his, and pretty much everyone's, puzzled face. She couldn't blame them; she was just as lost herself. What was going on with Johnny?

"Well, we've made it across safely," said Johnny once they were far enough from earshot, and leaving everyone wondering, and a very displeased Bobby.

"Yeah, thanks, and by the way, what are you doing here?"She asked as they walked towards her classroom.

"What do you mean? Pursuing higher education, of course," Johnny gave her a smile.

Rogue rolled her eyes. "I mean, weren't you Magneto's lap dog?" And she flashed him a smile back as his disappeared.

"Yeah, well, things change, so do people," he said this seriously.

Rogue searched his face to see if any sign of deceit was evident, but she felt that he had changed. And she smiled at him, this time it was an understanding smile.

"Look, Rogue, I know we've never been the best of friends, but I think we should talk, let's have lunch together, yes?" He looked hopeful.

"Ok," she just couldn't say no.

"Ok. Well, we're here, good luck. I gotta get my ass to my next class before I'm late," and he went off walking quickly down the hallway.

'Things are getting more and more interesting by the minute.' She thought to herself. She took a seat and waited for class to start. She kept herself busy by doodling on her notebook, but looked up when she noticed who had taken the seat in front of her. 'Bobby. It figures... definitely more and more interesting by the minute.'

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Her first set of classes had gone fairly well. The only thing she had truly hated was that Bobby was in every single class. But the mandatory welcome from each class and professors came in a close second. She hated having everyone's eyes on her; she had enough of that in the hallways. And every time that class ended she would run out the door as quickly as possible because she wanted to avoid Bobby just in case he felt like stopping her for a talk.

Now her last class before lunch was about to end. She was ready to sprint out of her seat and head out the door as soon as the bell rang. And there it was, the bell rang and she was out in a millisecond. But this time Bobby had been ready. He was right behind her and he pulled her arm to stop her.

"Rogue, please, just talk to me," he said softly.

For the first time that day, she looked him in the eyes. He looked so sad, standing there, holding onto her. 'No, don't pity him. He doesn't deserve it!' She thought to herself. She had to be stronger than this. She couldn't forgive him that easily.

Bobby saw that she wasn't going to talk to him so easily. "I know you don't want to talk to me right now, alone. So why don't you sit with the gang for lunch?"

Rogue didn't know if she should slap some sense into him or if she should laugh. Have lunch with them? 'Yeah, because I can't hardly wait to see you slobbering all over Kitty.'

"Sorry Iceman, but she has already been requested," both Bobby and Rogue turned to look at Johnny.

"Ready, Rogue?" Johnny looked at Rogue.

Rogue just nodded and walked towards him and they both walked to the cafeteria leaving a very angry Iceman behind.

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Both Rogue and Johnny sat on a small table as far away from the rest of the students. They knew that everyone was watching them closely and some were even trying to overhear as much as their conversation as possible, and for this reason, they talked as quietly as possible.

A few tables away from them sat Bobby, Kitty, and the rest of the group and a younger kid. Bobby began giving instructions to the younger kid.

"Ok, Henry, this is what I need you to do. I want you to try and read Johnny and Rogue's mind--"

"Storm said never to do that, she says it's a violation of privacy," Henry interrupted, very concerned about him being punished if he did what was asked of him.

"I know, I know, but I promise that she won't find out," Bobby assured him, "Besides, remember how Johnny was bad before? What if he is still bad and is trying to hurt Rogue? We just want to know if Johnny is up to anything funny, and if Rogue is believing his lies. "

Henry was thinking over the situation, he figured that this was an exception to the rules, it was all for Rogue's safety. So he gave a nod and said, "Ok."

Bobby gave him a wide smile, and looked at the rest of the group who were looking forward to finding out what was going on between Rogue and Johnny.

Henry was barely nine years old and his powers were very limited. He could read minds but only if the people were very close by and only for a short amount of time. That's all the powers needed in this case since Rogue and Johnny weren't far away. Henry focused and began making a connection between him and Johnny first.

"I don't think we should be doing this, what do we care what they're talking about?" Said Kitty who was bothered by what was going on.

"We do care, what if Johnny has some kind of plan and is just trying to involve Rogue in it?"

"_We_? I think it's more like_ you _care. It's that, isn't it?" Kitty said bitterly.

Gregori and Lauren had no idea of what to do. It was becoming very uncomfortable, sitting there, witnessing a couple's fight.

"Um, hey, I think Henry is making a connection!" Interrupted Lauren, grateful for the distraction.

"Henry, are you able to get what Johnny is thinking?" Asked Bobby. Henry just nodded.

_"So how's the cafeteria food for you after months of not eating it?" Asked Johnny._

_"Not bad compared to the food I ate in the last couple of months."_

_"What did you eat? And where?"_

_"Well... um, different food, different places."_

_"Oh..."_

_"Hey, thanks for walking me to class, and for having lunch with me."_

_"No problem. I didn't think you'd want to sit with me for lunch, but thanks for accepting."_

Henry looked from Johnny to Bobby and the rest of the table.

"What did you hear?" Asked Gregori.

"They're just talking about lunch," responded Henry,

"That's it? And what is he thinking?" Bobby was clearly not satisfied with such a plain answer.

"He wants to be her friend," Henry said in an as-a-matter-of-fact way.

At that, Bobby frowned, and asked, "What does she think?"

Henry went onto making a connection with Rogue. He looked in her direction and focused on her and just her. He blocked all noise, and people surrounding him, as he did every time he tried making a connection. It just took about half a minute to connect with someone, and when the connection was made he always felt a little dizzy but could hear the person's thoughts if the thoughts happened to be organized and not confused; he was also able to hear the voice of a second person if the first person was having a conversation.

A minute had passed and all Henry could hear was silence, empty silence, as if there was void there. He stared at Rogue, a little confused. Then he saw Rogue; she stopped her conversation with Johnny and looked around, as if looking for someone. As if she realized something, she turned her head sharply towards his direction, she stared at him for a moment, which caused him to turn around quickly, and he looked at the others. Rogue was looking at them too and everyone turned their gaze from her to each other.

"She's looking at us!' Whispered Henry, he felt like he'd been caught doing something really bad.

"I guess she felt someone watching her," said Lauren.

"Yeah," Gregori agreed.

"No, she knew I was trying to hear their conversation," Henry sounded ashamed.

"It's ok, I'm pretty sure she won't tell anyone, she knows we put you up to this," Bobby said reassuringly, and went on, "So what did you hear?"

"Nothing, all I got was silence, it's weird, because even if I can't hear her own thoughts, I should be able to hear Johnny's voice, and there was nothing, just long silence, and that's when she turned to look at me," Henry was vexed.

"Can I go now? I'm hungry."

"Yeah, thanks Henry," Bobby said and messed up his hair playfully. Henry ran off and sat at another table with his friends.

"I wonder why he couldn't connect with her," Bobby said aloud, but everyone else was wondering too, even Kitty.

"Whatever, it's not important, so how were your classes so far?" Kitty was trying to change the subject and drive Bobby's interest in Rogue towards herself. Bobby wanted to figure out what was going on but he didn't want to upset Kitty, so he decided to drop the subject and talk about their day so far.

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"What's the matter?"Asked Johnny looking toward the direction in which Rogue was looking.

"They got some kid to try and read our minds," Rogue said in disbelief.

They both looked at Henry as he ran towards his table and friends.

"I think you're right, that little kid can read minds, but he's not that good at it, amateur, you know," he wasn't worried about how much Henry heard, "How did you know that Henry was listening in?"

"Um," Rogue thought about what to say, that truth was that she felt a little tug in the back of her head, she knew it was the little chip that Hermis had placed on her. She didn't know what to say to Johnny, she wasn't sure what Johnny was really up to, and she had never trusted him, "I don't know, I just got this weird feeling, like I was being watched."

Johnny looked her over with some suspicion, "You're acting a little weird, like you're nervous."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are, something is up with you, what is it?"

"It's really none of your business, Johnny."

"I know you don't trust me, and I don't blame you, but you need someone to trust. You know very well that you probably can't talk to Lauren in the same way, since she's also friends with Kitty and Bobby. Gregory, well, he's just Gregori the jock. Obviously, I don't think I need to point out how the situation stands with Kitty. That only leaves another option for you: make new friends."

"And why do you care so much, what's it to you if I have any friends or not?"

"I care because... I need a friend too in this place," Johnny said, looking down at his food. Rogue understood exactly what he might be feeling. He was probably a loner now because of what he did. No one wanted to hang around the guy to betrayed the X-Men. Not that they were to blame for not wanting to hang around Johnny, but it was cruel of them to be so judgmental. Was she going to be the same?

"I think this is a start of a bizarre new friendship," said Rogue, smiling. Johnny looked up from his plate and smiled back at Rogue.

Johnny wanted to find out what was going on with Rogue; she acted nervous when asked about her whereabouts for the last couple of months. And he knew she was lying and holding back on something, but he didn't want to push her too much, he needed to gain her trust first, and he was willing to wait until she brought it up herself.

"You have gym next, right?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah, I have the same class, so do our friends over there," he said looking back at Bobby and the rest of the group, "we're playing touch football, I think it's gonna be fun," he said with a grin. He was definitely looking forward to gym, something he hadn't looked forward to since he came back to school.

"Yeah, tons," said Rogue, dryly.

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**A/N:** Woo! It's good to be back! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, there's not a lot of Rogue/Bobby interaction but I had to take it slow, don't want to rush it, you know? So be patient my readers, I promise that there will be some good Bobby/Rogue moments to come! And her first day of classes is not over yet! I'm dying to see how the football match goes... hmmm..

You know what the best way of recovery for a young fan-fic writer who has just gotten surgery is? Reviews! Tons of them! Ha! Ok, maybe some pain medication too, but the reviews help too!


	6. Author's Note

Ok you guys, I'm just writing a little author's note here to let you all know that I'm alive and that I will continue with the story.

I'm really sorry that it took me this long to actually update, just random things happened, and you know how it goes.

Well, I don't really have an update but I promise one within this next week, but first...

Let me know if you guys will still follow my story. Please, and thank you so much for the lovely reviews! And of course, all the support.

I plan on going back and editing my chapters. I noticed some mistakes. Some of which you guys have pointed out. Thanks for paying attention!

Love, Maggie


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